CMS News

"Video games are hard, people don't like to play easy games": Eric Klopfer in the Boston Globe

2009-10-14T14:02:59Z

An article in the Boston Globe offered the latest defense of video games as a great brain developer, quoting The Education Arcade's Eric Klopfer (shown at right):

"Video games are hard,'' said Eric Klopfer, the director of MIT's Education Arcade, which studies and develops educational video games. "People don't like to play easy games, and games have figured out a way to encourage players to persist at solving challenging problems.'' The games aren't just hard--they're adaptively hard. They tend to challenge people right at the edge of their abilities; as players get better and score more points, they move up to more demanding levels of play. This adaptive challenge is "stunningly powerful'' for learning...

The article also cites a recent paper out of UC-Irvine which showed that three months of playing Tetris made teenage girls' brains more efficient. "Parts of the cortex, the outer layer of their brains responsible for high-level functions, actually got thicker." However, no one knows for sure if that kind of improvement leads to long-term, generalized smarts. "Until now, people have been asking can you learn anything from games?'' the Globe quotes Klopfer as saying. "That's a less interesting question than what aspects of games are important for fostering learning.'' How video games are good for the brain -- Boston Globe

CMS is a top place to find "tech-focused advertising talent": AdAge

2009-10-14T12:43:16Z

Advertising shops are scouring for creative technologists: a rare breed familiar with technology and conversant with new forms of media, but also able to translate that know-how into compelling digital-branding vehicles. [...] Look beyond portfolio schools to the growing group of programs that incubate tech-minded talent. Favorites include the Rochester Institute of Technology, the aforementioned Hyper Island, a Swedish digital-ad school, MIT's Comparative Media Studies program and New York University's interactive telecommunications program. Also expected to be a breeding ground for new digital talent is Boulder Digital Works, a new stateside graduate program featuring mini-courses from Hyper Island.

Advertising Age: Where to Find Tech-Focused Advertising Talent

Podcast: "Communications Forum: Race, Politics, and American Media"

2009-10-09T19:08:53Z

The election of an African-American president in November 2008 has been hailed as a transforming event. But has Obama's ascension transformed anything? Many people's answer to that question changed this summer when a famous Harvard professor was arrested at his home in Cambridge. Are the harsh realities of race and class in the U.S. clearer now or murkier, following the media tsunami of Gatesgate? And has this polarizing event given greater visibility to racial minorities in the media's coverage of politics? How are race issues and racial politics covered in our national media, and what are the implications of the demise of major city newspapers for the coverage of race and politics? Juan Williams of NPR and Fox News discussed these and related questions in a candid conversation with Phillip Thompson, associate professor of urban politics in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT, and David Thorburn, Professor of Literature and Director of the MIT Communications Forum. This forum is the first of two this term in our ongoing civic media series, a collaboration of the Communications Forum and the Media Lab's Center for Future Civic Media.

Registration now open for Futures of Entertainment 4

2009-10-08T13:30:32Z

This year's conference is November 20 and 21 here at MIT:

Convergence has moved swiftly from buzzword to industry logic. The creation of transmedia storyworlds, understanding how to appeal to migratory audiences, and the production of digital extensions for traditional materials are becoming the bread and butter of working in the media. Futures of Entertainment 4 once again brings together key industry leaders who are shaping these new directions in our culture and academic scholars immersed in the investigation the social, cultural, political, economic, and technological implications of these changes in our media landscape.

Confirmed speakers include Frank Rose of Wired, Andrew Slack of the Harry Potter Alliance, Stephen Duncombe author of Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in the Age of Fantasy, and many more.

GAMBIT introduces "Game of the Week" feature

2009-10-06T17:25:07Z

From the GAMBIT blog:

Please enjoy this "behind the scenes" content from the development process of our summer prototypes. For eight weeks teams of students worked together to develop these games from scratch with only some research guidelines as a starting point. We hope that by exposing our process to the public we can encourage innovation in game development and game studies for industry and academia alike. Take a look at the developer interviews, concept art, sound, design documentation, essays, commentaries, and all other content we will make available in this series. But most importantly please take a chance to go play the games. We have made them, for you.

Podcast: "How Not to Be Seen"

2009-10-01T15:16:28Z

Hanna Rose Shell, a historian and media artist, is as Assistant Professor in the Program on Science, Technology and Society at MIT. This was a talk about camouflage framed by the question of "how not to be seen"--in film, on film, as film. In the first part, Shell introduced "how not to be seen" in terms of the aspiration for, and actualization of concealment in both filmic and natural ecologies through mixed-media practices that simultaneously incorporate and subvert the photographic media of reconnaissance. In the second part, Shell screened and discussed her film-in-progress, called Blind, about the phenomenology of camouflage. Blind as in blindness, and blind as in that actively constructed structure intended for the concealment of a hunter from her game. Shell's book Hide and Seek: Camouflage and the Media of Reconnaissance will be published by Zone Books.

CMS announces addition of Ian Condry as program's Associate Director

2009-09-30T13:42:09Z

Director William Uricchio last Friday introduced Ian Condry, cultural anthropologist with a focus on contemporary Japan, as the new Associate Director of the Comparative Media Studies program. In a note to CMS faculty and staff, Uricchio said, "Ian's work across a variety of media platforms (music and club scenes, anime, social networks and literature) and between cultures (particularly the US and Japan) fits CMS perfectly. Particularly in this time of transition for CMS, Ian's presence is vitally important." "I'm delighted to have this opportunity to work with William, the CMS students, and the many affiliated faculty and staff at MIT on the rebuilding of the program," Condry said. "CMS has already proven its importance in providing a space for invigorating and collaborative for research and teaching, as evidenced by the decade-long commitment to engaging with the ways media are reshaping the ways we learn, teach, work and play. The challenge now is to take advantage of the the program's strengths and to reach out across the Institute and beyond to expand the core of the program in a way that works towards a more sustainable future. I'm excited to be part of that effort. " Director Uricchio added, "As a program, we still have challenges ahead, but with Ian's addition, the possibilities are both exciting and tangible."

From the CMS archive: "Not the Real World Anymore"

2009-09-25T13:05:32Z

We've been steadily reformatting older content here on the CMS website so that all of our audio and video is available for download, both on the site and through iTunes. (In fact, you can subscribe to the podcast here via the iTunes Store.) One of the gems transferred to iTunes in this process was a video from the very first Futures of Entertainment conference. (FOE4 is coming up in November.) This "From the CMS archives" post features video from that first conference, from a session called "Not the Real World Anymore". John Lester, from Linden Lab; Ron Meiners, Developer Relations Manager at Multiverse.net; and Todd Cunningham and Eric Gruber, from MTV Networks discussed how virtual spaces are becoming platforms for thought experiments -- some of which involve fantasies we would not like to enact in the real world, others involve possibilities that we may want to test market before putting into practice. The video is available via our our podcast on iTunes.

CMS grad Ford continues to pop up in every news story about the importance of soap operas

2009-09-18T16:13:40Z

Whether it's pro wrestling or your nana's "stories," CMS graduate Sam Ford is reporters' go-to guy for understanding the nuts and bolts of TV drama. Yesterday, he was quoted again by the Boston Globe. From To fans, Guiding Light has been more than a soap opera:

...for [Maggie] Lemelin, 36, it's really about Nana. "It's just a little piece of being back in my grandmother's living room,'' the Rowley resident says. That connection will be lost, for many viewers, after the nation's longest-running soap succumbs to the woes that have plagued daytime dramas for years: low ratings, changed viewing habits, an audience that no longer hits advertisers' target demographic. Soaps are in peril, but they're also deeply loved, and draw the kind of loyalty that's seen in fans of comic books and professional wrestling, says Sam Ford, who taught a course on soaps last year in MIT's Comparative Media Studies program. "I think we have an inherent love of a story that's bigger than we are,'' Ford says.

Podcast: "Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks"

2009-09-18T03:00:00Z

Ethan Gilsdorf discussed some of the themes of his new book, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms, a blend of travelogue, pop culture analysis, and memoir as forty-year-old former D&D addict Gilsdorf crisscrosses America, the world, and other worlds--from Boston to Wisconsin, France to New Zealand, and Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. He asks: Who are these gamers and fantasy fans? What explains the irresistible appeal of such "escapist" adventures? How do the players balance their escapist urges with the kingdom of adulthood? Gilsdorf talked about the culture's discomfort with the geek/nerd/gamer stereotype and looked at society's ambivalent relationship with gaming and fantasy play, and the origins of that prejudice, as well as the author's own past misgivings and final acceptance of his "geek" identity.

CMS job opening for tenured faculty position

2009-09-16T19:49:34Z

Note application deadline of November 1, 2009:

MIT's Program in Comparative Media Studies seeks applications for a tenured position beginning in September 2010. A PhD and an extensive record of publication, research activity and leadership are expected. We encourage applicants from a wide array of disciplinary backgrounds. The successful candidate will teach and guide research in one or more of the Program's dimensions of comparativity (historical, methodological, cultural) across media forms. Expertise in the cultural and social implications of established media forms (film, television, audio and visual cultures, print) is as important as scholarship in one or more emerging areas such as games, social media, new media literacies, participatory culture, software studies, IPTV, and transmedia storytelling. The position involves teaching graduate and undergraduate courses, developing and guiding collaborative research activities, and participating in the intellectual and creative leadership of the Program and the Institute. Candidates should demonstrate a record of effective teaching and thesis supervision, significant research/creative activity, relevant administrative experience, and international recognition. CMS offers SB and SM programs and maintains a full roster of research initiatives and outreach activities [see http://cms.mit.edu] The program embraces the notion of comparativity and collaboration and works across MIT's various schools and between MIT and the larger media landscape. MIT is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Applications consisting of a curriculum vita, a statement of teaching philosophy and experience, a statement of current and future research plans, selected major publications, and names of suggested references should be submitted by November 1, 2009 to: Professor William Uricchio Director, Comparative Media Studies MIT 14N-207 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 USA

You know you're doing something right when FoxNews lists you as one of the "11 Wackiest College Courses of Fall 2009"

2009-09-04T12:56:06Z

We take great pride in this acknowledgment, aimed squarely at the Gambit Game Lab:

If you need a break from math at MIT, "Introduction to Videogame Studies" might appeal to you. "Students play and analyze videogames while reading current research and theory," reads the course description, which says students are expected to beat the games too, "in consultation with the instructor."

Intro to Video Games comes in at number six, just ahead of Cornell University's course in tree climbing (which fulfills a physical education requirement) and Ohio State's Harry Potter course, where students are "expected to read all seven books". Of course none of them quite top the paradox inherent in FoxNews' #9 pick: a $4,875 course at Occidental College on stupidity.

Video: "J. Michael Straczynski: The Julius Schwartz Lecture"

2009-09-03T13:50:00Z

The entire video is available for download (.m4v, 305mb).

Also viewable in three parts, viewable online:

Part 1: The lecture

Part 2: Conversation between JMS and Henry Jenkins

Part 3: Audience Q&A

All videos, including clips, are available at the CMS page at TechTV: http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/cms

This year's Julius Schwartz Lecture speaker was transmedia creator J. Michael Straczynski, who has most recently entered the motion picture arena, writing the period drama Changeling for Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie, adapting such books as Lensman for Ron Howard, World War Z for Brad Pitt's company, and They Marched Into Sunlight for Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass, as well as reviving Forbidden Planet for Warner Bros. and selling two new original movies, The Flickering Light and Proving Ground to Universal and Tom Cruise's United Artists, respectively. He has also begun work on Last Words, a pilot for a new TV series for the TNT network.

]]> Previously known best for his role as the creator of the cult science fiction series Babylon 5 and its various spin-off films and series. Straczynski wrote 92 out of the 110 Babylon 5 episodes, notably including an unbroken 59-episode run through all of the third and fourth seasons, and all but one episode of the fifth season.

His early television writing career spans from work on He-Man, She-Ra, and The Real Ghostbusters through to The New Twilight Zone and Murder She Wrote. He followed up Babylon 5 with the science fiction series Jeremiah.

Straczysnki also enjoys continued success as a comic book writer, working on established superhero franchises, such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Supreme Power and Thor, as well as his own original series, such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, The Twelve, and The Book of Lost Souls. He is also a journalist, publishing over 500 articles in such periodicals as the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Writer's Digest Magazine, and TIME Inc.

He was one of the first television producers to actively engage his fan community online and has consistently explored the interface between digital media and other storytelling platforms.

More than half of Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab students find employment in game companies

2009-09-02T13:06:08Z

From a press release issued by the Media Development Authority of Singapore:

Since running yearly summer internship programmes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2007, the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab (GAMBIT) has trained 77 students from various local tertiary institutes in games research and development. Of these, 41 of them have since found employment in the Singapore games and media industries while the remaining is largely still serving national service.

That's a remarkable accomplishment and testament to the GAMBIT program. GAMBIT staff added their thoughts:

We here at the Cambridge office are very excited by this announcement, and look forward to working closely with our partners across the ocean to find more job placements for our highly skilled and talented students.

Color (or the Lack of It) at Comic-Con...And Beyond

2009-08-31T16:49:55Z

Grad student Florence Gallez, who interviewed Henry Jenkins at Comic-Con for the upcoming issue of the CMS newsletter In Medias Res, pens an opinion piece for The Tech about the lack of diversity at the same conference:

[W]hen it comes to race, all is not well in Comic-land and in the entertainment world it inspires -- a fact I was reminded of at Comic-Con at every turn. It was clear that some great minds are hard at work on improving the situation, but evidence of concrete change was hard to come by. Just take that very Souvenir Book and count the featured non-white "past Comic-Con office-holders and supporters" who have shaped the past 40 years, and you will see that one hand largely suffices. [...] Ethnic Caribbean actress and Star Trek star Zoe Saldana puts the lack of diversity more bluntly: "There aren't enough African-American superheroes. Or Asian-American superheroes. Have you ever met a superhero named Juan Gonzales? I would kill for that."